


Persona: Unravel

by Witchboy21



Category: Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Bloody, Demons, F/M, Fantasy, Female Protagonist, Gore, Hauntings, High School, Horror, Humor, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Inspired by Dark Souls (Video Game), Italy, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Minor Character Death, Murder, Mystery, Occult, Original work - Freeform, Paranormal, Persona 5 Character's Cameo, Post-Persona 5, Shadowverse - Freeform, Students, Suicide Attempt, Suspense, Violence, dark secrets, gay relationship, persona - Freeform, slow build up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:47:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24155341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Witchboy21/pseuds/Witchboy21
Summary: Our Protagonist, Kiyo Horie, an exchange student from Tokyo, Japan is sent abroad to study fine arts at the Three Saints High School in Venice, Italy to study art design to take over her Grandmother's successful high end boutiques in Japan. Through the first week, she is getting accustomed to the new surrounds and making new friends. One of her friend's have heard that strange things have been occurring in one of the five spots in Venice said to haunted. It is that some teens have gone missing one night, but for one individual survivor. The person described their attackers to be like demons with supernatural powers that killed the teens gruesomely. Officers have gone to the location, but never found traces of the lost or even blood on the ground as described.Kiyo and her friends are curious about this and decide to go to see if its all a prank or not to cause fear. Unfortunately for them, that night it is all but too real as demons come after them in the form of their darkest secrets. Coming face to face with their inner demons has awaken their Personas and their duty to investigate the five haunted locations before the demons and their world spread all across Venice.





	1. Character Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> This my first time attempting to write an original story with only OC characters. I hope I am able to write out a story that can come close to the amazing work of the Persona Series. I Have written some character bios and backgrounds of the beta characters and plot of the story. If anyone is interested let me know and I can post that work to give you more information on the characters and story. I am open to feedback and suggestions. I really want to make this fanfic something amazing. And if anyone is good at art let me know. I would really like to see my characters be brought to life by what you all imagine them to be. Thank you and I hope you enjoy what will be a 40+ chapter story that is to come.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Due to my story being mainly an OC based Persona story, I wanted to create visuals for my characters so that the reader can have a visual of what my OCs look like. I was able to find a way to create them due to my art skills not being the best and they came out mainly how imagined them, but other changes could be made. I do take into account the critics you (the reader) have to offer and will use it to form the character development and story if needed. I hope you all do enjoy what is available of the story so far and I will work very hard to add more to it as quickly as I can.

Kiyo Horie 

School Uniform / Casual 

Calliope Pace 

School Uniform / Casual 

Emiliano Moreno 

School Uniform / Casual 

Dimitria Pace

School Uniform / Casual 

Clover Edwards (Name May Change) 

School / Casual 

Rebecca Johnson (Name May Change) 

School/Casual 

Abel Vega

School/Casual 

Theodore Hale 

School/Casual 

Victor Velvet 

Velvet Room Attire 


	2. Arrival

It was around 3pm in a semi-busy airport in Venice, Italy that Kiyo arrived after almost a 22 hour flight from Tokyo. Nervous due to her new surroundings with only the two suitcases and the backpack on her back, she was alone and intimidated, but also slightly excited for studies at Liceo Dei Tre Santi (Three Saints High School). She is to take 3 years of Fine Art courses to learn design to take over her grandmother’s clothing boutiques in Tokyo as lead designer and head of her business. But her true love is the art style of surrealism, the fantasy and visuals of it gives her an escape from all the responsibility her grandmother has put on her 15 year old self. She hopes to live up to her grandmother's expectations and see her as a proper replacement and redeemer of her dead father. 

Looking around the airport, Kiyo looks for a woman with blonde hair that is braided, green eyes, 5’6, light complected and holding a sign with her name on it. After a little bit of looking, she found the girl with the sign and waved at her and she waved back with a smile. Walking towards the girl, Kiyo is bumped into and falls which causes one of her suitcases to pop open causing her art supplies to scatter on the floor. The person who bumped into her was a tall, slim guy that looked around her age, light complected, platinum blond hair, yellow eyes, wearing a blue and black cap, blue and black hoodie, and holding a skateboard. 

“Ouch” Kiyo said as she rubbed the left arm that got rammed into by the stranger. 

“I’m so sorry! Let me help” the stranger said as he got up and extended his hand to her. She grabbed his hand and was pulled up and couldn’t stop staring at how bright and yellow his eyes were. Realizing how long she was staring at them, she snapped herself out of the trance. 

“I’m sorry” She said quickly

“No, I should be the one that’s sorry. Let me help you pick up your things.” 

“Thank you” 

“Wow, you have a lot of art supplies. You go to art school?” 

“Yah, I’m taking courses at Three Saints High School.” 

“That’s pretty awesome. I heard it’s pretty difficult to get in with having to pay tuition and getting through the waitlist.” 

“Then I must one of the lucky ones to attend” 

“You sure are” As they finished picking up and putting her things back into the suitcase she said her thank yous and was on her way to meet up with the girl picking her up. As she began to walk she felt a hand lightly grab her right shoulder. 

“I’m sorry, I forgot to give you this. From one art lover to another. I’m having a small art exhibition at one of the small community art galleries that give ameture artist an opportunity to shine and be discovered. I hope you can make it….. I’m sorry what is your name?” 

“It’s Kiyo and yours?” she said taking the pamphlet into her hand.

“Victor… Well I gotta get going. Hope you can make it! And good luck in art school.” 

“Thank you!” Kiyo yelled slightly as Victor disappeared into the crowd. 

Distracted by so much in the little time that she has arrived, she almost forgot how much time the girl was waiting for her and hoping she would not get mad and leave for making her wait for so long. As she powered walked in front of the airport she found herself with the blonde girl. Almost out of breath for power walking her way to her, she attempted to apologize with the little breath she had left.

“I’m.. I’m so sorry… I bumped into someone, dropped my things, got invited to a small art exhibition. Never knew I would bombarded so much after just 30 minutes of arrival”

“Wow, you went through alot in such a small amount of time. But that’s Venice for you. Full of surprises. Let me help you with your luggage. There are a bunch of taxis outside that we can take to the dorms. I’m Dimitria Bell, your roommate for the next 3 years.” She said, extending her hand with a smile waiting for a handshake.” 

“I’m Kiyo Horie, it’s a pleasure to meet you” she said as she shook Dimitria’s hand. 

“I heard from the headmaster of the school that you are from Tokyo. Your Italian is pretty good. But then again you must have practiced before coming here. Forgive me if that was anyway offensive. It’s just that it’s my second year at the school and I've never met anyone from Japan. Born and raised in Venice, I’ve only met Spanish visitors and American’s family members from my father’s side who do not bother to learn the language” 

“ No offense taken. I had a year to learn the language before arriving. Luckily my grandmother was able to pay for a tutor.” 

“Wow your grandmother must really love you to pay for a tutor. I hear they cost a pretty penny. Especially if you learned throughout a whole year.” Dimitria said, impressed, but also curious about her new roommate's life. 

“Well, I would say love is not in my grandmother’s vocabulary when it comes to me, but more of a personal gain kind of situation for hiring a tutor for me and sending me here. But I don’t really want to go all into the details of my personal life at the moment. Hope you can understand.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so intrusive. I just get so intrigued by the lives of others who’ve I never met without considering boundaries. Whenever you want to talk about it, I’m all ears.” 

As they finished their conversation, Dimitria flagged down a taxi, but it was no ordinary taxi that she has grown to know. It was a water taxi, which is a decent sized boat docked outside the airport ready to take them. 

“So the taxis here are boats?!” Kiyo said in shock. She has never been on a boat before due to a tragic accident tied to them. Her parents went on a cruise to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary, but died on it when the ship's engine malfunctioned and exploded causing her parents to be trapped and drown with the ship from what she has heard from the news. 

“They sure are. When you live in the city built on water, there is no other way to travel. Is this your first time on a boat?”

“Yah it is. Is there no other way to get to the school?” 

“No, sorry this is the only way to get around Venice. But I feel after a couple times on them you’ll grow accustomed to them. But they have life jackets, seat belts, and everything you need to feel safe. So don’t worry.” 

“I’ll try” Kiyo sighed as the driver took the luggage before helping Dimitria and Kiyo on the boat that swayed slightly with the breezes. Dimitria helped her put on her life jacket and buckled her down. And before she knew it the boat started to move. Kiyo grasped to railing tightly to the point where her knuckles became white, holding on to dear life only to let go when they arrived at their destination. Dimitria noticed this and began to talk to her about all the amazing places in Venice that she will take her tomorrow to see before starting school as an attempt to calm her. The conversation helped Kiyo to calm down and decided to look up and what she saw was just beautiful. 

She saw beautiful colored buildings of red, orange, yellow, and white from left to right. She saw children paying in one of the plazas they passed by, other boats passing them by as some of the individuals on them waved at them, vendors selling treats, and beautifully constructed and designed brides. What caught her eye the most were the beautiful gaundelas taking couples under the bridge as the person paddling the boat is wearing a black and white striped shirt, a star hat, red bandana tied to their neck, black shorts and shoes. It was just like in the movies, so romantic and beautiful. The water was so blue, it shimmered in the sunlight making her feel at peace and forget her fears. Before she knew it, she felt Dimitria’s hand on her arm that was still sore letting her know that they had arrived, but did not flinch in order to not worry her. 

“Here we are, Three Saints High School, we are lucky that the school is one of the few that has a drop off zone.” As they got the luggage off the boat, they thanked the driver and paid him money that the school gave Dimitria for transportation. On the drop off zone ahead of them was 2 flights of steps about 10 steps per flight. As they got up the steps at the top was a welcoming arch made of green steel with an open tunnel attached to it made of the same green steel wrapped with ivy. On the left and right side of the tunnel one can see grassfields with bushes of roses, trees with benches underneath them and even a gazebo and green house. 

“I didn’t see botany as one of the school courses?” 

“It’s not, the headmaster of the school, loves plants and felt like the school needed more of that green earthy beauty to it since all you can really see is water everywhere. She felt that students would appreciate it as well and made it an extracurricular activity.” Dimitria explained. 

“I see. That explains a lot. I appreciate that. It makes it feel more like at home. Reminds me of my grandparent’s flower shop back in Tokyo.” Kiyo said with a weak smile. Missing her mother's parents who were so kind to her, but could not raise her due to her father’s mother taking her away after her parents death. Threatening to take her other grandparents to court if they would fight for her. Knowing that she was rich, they could not win. 

“ It must be a nice feeling being surrounded by beautiful flowers every day.” 

“Yah it was” Kiyo said with a weak smile that tried to hide some sadness behind it. Dimitria saw this but did not want to dig into her life without permission. 

After walking about the width of a football fiend, which is about the size of the outdoor area of the school. They arrived at the entrance of the school. The school was a cream color with dark green roofing and outlining. It stood around 4 stories tall, with multiple windows, and was wide as 4 apartment complexes put together. The school was built in a circle shape and was divided into 8 sections for the courses taught there, which are medical, fine arts, science, vocational, teacher training, language, classics, and technical. Before coming here one must have at least a 2 year equivalent of general studies done before choosing a subject that they will study for three years. 

“The School is pretty big huh?” Dimitria said gently elbowing Kiyo.

“It is, I’ve never seen a high school this big let alone build in a circle shape. It's almost like a coliseum.” 

“Yah it's gotta be this big to hold 8 different subjects here. Normally you would choose a course you would like to study and go to a high school that is only dedicated to teaching that. But the founder of the school thought we have a lot to learn from each other and brought them together here. That is why there is a waiting list, but those who have money can pay their way in here by giving a donation to the school to help fund the courses.” 

“Well I would believe that’s how must private schools go huh” Kiyo asked

“Yah, but the cool thing is we get to live in the dorms here. Makes it for a great bonding experience. Not many high schools do that.”

“Do you know what it is called Three Saints?” 

“During the welcoming ceremony, we heard a little back story about the founder of the school and it is said that he was visited by three female saints from different cultures in a dream saying that he had to open a school and bring all different ideals, backgrounds, and education goals together. So he opened the school here in his home city of Venice back in 2001. He passed away three years later and left the Headmaster in charge, who happens to be his niece” 

“Wow, now that is something you don’t hear every day. I guess that explains the three saint statues on top of the entrance here.” 

“Yah. Alright so come with me. Since it’s Saturday, the entrances inside that lead you to the class rooms and departments are looked. They are on the 1st and 2nd floor. Our dorm is on the 3rd floor for girls and the boys are on the 4th floor.” 

Walking into the school, inside was just as beautiful as the outside. The floors were covered in white marble with dark green diamonds shapes scattered across. In the center of the first floor was a big water fountain that one could sit down one the edge of and read a book, and in the center of it were the statues of the three saints. There were beautifully sculpted tone benches for one to sit and potted plants giving it a green contrast to the cream colored walls inside. On the left and right where the hallways for the first level of courses with windows all around bringing in light. And paintings hung in between each window with art depicting the subjects taught on that floor which consist of Classics, Language, Vocational, and Technical. If one would go straight from the entrance, passing the water fountain there are two large doors made of glass there is a garden in the middle outside of the school.

The school being shaped like a coliseum left enough space in the middle to build a small garden with green steel garden tables and chairs, and feel stone benches for students to sit down, eat lunch and study. There is another pair of glass doors across the entrance to the garden for those on the other side to enter.. On the left and right of the fountain on the first floor, there are two staircases going up to the second floor with the same color scheme and floor, but there is no opening in the middle. It is a complete floor, where in the middle is the library and computer room. The subjects held on that floor are Science, Medicine, Teacher Training, and Fine Arts. They have the latest lab equipment for science and medicine, and an art room to let art projects dry and be stored. The teacher lounge, counselors office, and headmaster’s room are also located on that floor. 

The stairs to the third floor were just a few feet away on the left side of the ones that lead them to the second floor and the boys were on the far right side, which go all the way up to the fourth floor skipping the third floor. The dorm area was the same as the second being a full floor, color and flooring. Entering the hallway, on the left was just windows that let you see out into the city and on the right is where the doors to the dorm room are. Their room was the 10th to the entrance of the stairs and entering inside, it was spacious and nice. Inside were two full size beds on each side with bedding provided by the school, two small dressers by their beds and two small tables in front of the bed to do their work. The bathroom and showers were in the 15th room and the laundry in the 16th. 

“So what do you think? Pretty fancy place huh. One can get lost here on their first day, but you’ll get the hang of it soon enough. If you are ever hungry the dining hall is located outside by the yard we have seen. But normally we all go out to eat at the small restaurants and cafes close by the school. We are given a debit card with a limit a year for food that comes from the tuition money you paid. They will normally give those to us at the welcoming ceremony on Monday. But luckily for you my family owns a restaurant close to here so we can get lunch for free.”  
“Wow that’s pretty awesome. Thank you, but I can pay for the meal. I don’t. Want to take too much from your family’s hard work” 

“Don’t worry about it. We’re roommates and we gotta have each other’s back” Dimitria said, giving Kiyo a wink. 

“Yah, we could say we are friends in some way. I’m sorry. Here I am calling us friends when we just met…” 

“Omg yes, I totally consider us friends. So I’ll let you settle in and relax and I will see you later tonight. It’s 6pm, so I have to go to my family restaurant to help with late night orders. But I'll be back around 11pm. I work at my family restaurant from time to time to help pay for my tuition so those that work have permission to be out until 11pm. Those who don’t have to be in by 9pm. Security roams outside and on the first floor so we are safe. So if I don’t catch you awake. Goodnight and we will have an adventure tomorrow. Your key is on your dresser. Ciao!” 

With that Dimitira waved goodbye and locked the door behind her. Kiyo put away the little clothes that she brought away in the dresser. She brought a little clothes because she is going to buy new clothes to wear and bring home to her grandmother for inspiration. While putting away her art supplies in the drawers of her study table, she took out a framed family photo of her and her parents on her 6th birthday, a few weeks before their deaths. Wiping away a tear, she placed the photo down and got a change of clothes ready as she went to shower. 

As she walked into the shower, she noticed that there was someone else in there. It was new to Kiyo sharing a shower space with others but nothing out of this world. She walked into a shower on the opposite side, closed a teal curtain behind her and washed herself. After a long flight, a shower was just what she needed. As she washed her long white hair, she heard singing across from her. It must be the other girl showering. Shortly after, the singing stopped and so did the water from the other shower. She could hear a blow dryer starting. A few moments after, Kiyo got out of the shower and dried herself and pat dried her hair. Wrapping herself in the tower she walked to the changing area of the bathroom where she left her clothes, she saw the girl drying her hair. She was around her height, 5”4 with black hair reaching her shoulders and warm brown eyes that she got a glimpse of from the mirror, the new sink she was drying her hair at. 

Feeling brave, Kiyo complimented her singing from earlier but the girl couldn’t hear her due to the blow dryer, but was able to see her mouth moving from the mirror. Turning off the dryer, she turned around to face Kiyo. 

“Pardon, but did you say something?”  
“Oh, I was just saying that your singing was really good.” 

“Oh thank you, but it’s not the best.” The girl said blushing from the complement. 

“I think it was. It sounded so lovely like a lullaby.” 

“It was a lullaby. I would sing my twin sisters to sleep when I was younger” 

“Well I think your sisters are lucky to hear such a beautiful singing voice. By the way my name is Kiyo. I’m a first year here.” 

“My name is Calliope, I’m a first year student too. It’s nice to meet you.” 

“It’s nice to meet you too. Forgive me for starting a conversation with you in our situation. I just thought I should say something before I missed the opportunity. I’ll let you go with what you were doing. It was really nice meeting you. Hope to see you around.” Kiyo put on her slippers as she said her goodbyes. 

As she walked to the dorm, Kiyo saw the beautiful sunset through the window as it reflected on the canals through the city. It was magical and brought wonder to her eyes. It made her feel more comfortable and made her situation bearable in knowing that her stay there will be something out of this world before returning to a nightmare back home. But little does she know that nightmares will soon take a form beyond what she and the others could ever imagine.


	3. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiyo too tired to wait up for Dimitria to come back go to bed early hoping to wake up early and explore Venice with her newly made friend. But her long needed sleep turn into a living nightmare. Waking up on an island spotting an abandoned building and bell tower leave Kiyo with questions and questioning the reality of it when being chased by a monster who's flesh seems to melt off and regenerate itself and is stared at by it many red eyes all over its body. Will she wake up unscathed and realizing it was just a dream or harmed and injured realizing that everything was all to real and almost dying at the hands of a masked figure who may be behind all of it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have read up to this part. Thank you so much much for taking time out of you fan fiction reading time to read what I've come up with. I am working really hard to create and upload many more chapters and pray that I never give up on this story. I am open to comments and opinions on what the story lacks and what can be done to make it better. Thank you again and I hope you enjoy it and continue to follow it as it progresses.

*Kiyo’s Dream*   
Dark, cold, surrounded by trees as almost as if she was in the middle of a forest and the sound of waves crashing helped Kiyo realize that she was on an island. How she arrived there was a mystery. She remembered that she went to bed too tired to wait up for Dimitria and fell asleep. This must be a dream, but it all feels so real from the wind blowing into her face to the scratches she felt as she walked through the bushes trying to find a way out of the forest. As she walked through this forest that seemed to have no end she spotted a bell tower that showed through a small opening of the trees above and some moonlight that shined upon it. She walked towards the direction of the bell tower and was able to exit the forest and in front of her was not only the tower but a big and wide building that seemed to be two stories tall and took up a good portion of the island from what was seen. It looked creep and abandoned with windows broken and pieces of plank wood used to cover said windows and even the doors to keep everyone out. 

Cold with nothing but her light blue pajama pants and shirt on he looks for a way inside. As she walks around looking for a door that can be opened, she hears a snarl come from the forest. But it didn’t sound like an animal snarl, it was more demonic in nature and it made every hair on her head stand and skin goosebump in fear. Not wanting to stay out and be caught by whatever could be lurking outside she finds a door that seems to mid-open about 20 feet away from her. As she walks towards the door, she hears footsteps behind her, but these footsteps sounded wet, like someone is walking through mud, but the ground beneath her was dry and firm. She could hear that demonic snarling again, but closer this time and she could hear something like flesh being torn and the smell of rotten flesh. Turning around to see how far away the thing that is stocking her, she freezes in place for a moment as all the color on her is drained and she shakes in fear. The monstrosity is about 30 feet away, and it was something that you thought is only seen on high end horror movies. The monster was about 7 feet in height, humanoid, thin, wet pale skin that seemed to melt off and replace itself, which seems to be the cause of the wet noise Kiyo heard, red eyes everywhere on its body that seem to weep, and its mouth that appeared to have been sewn shut, but has been forcefully opened to show razor sharp teeth with a bloody grin. 

As she stares at it in fear, the monster prepares itself to attack her, which snaps her back to her senses and runs towards the open door. As she runs towards the door she can feel her heartbeat all the way to her throat and it only worsens when she sees the creature catching up behind her as it runs on all fours. Luckily for her she reaches the doorway and goes in locking the door behind her and leaning her back against the door to catch her breath. She jumps in fear away from the door when she feels the loud banging on the door, which is coming from the creature trying to get in. After around a minute, the banging stopped and everything was calm around her. Regaining her train of thought, she looked around the main entrance and found everything to be in a disarray. Everything was covered in dust, spiderwebs, with furniture flipped around. One thing that stood out the most here were the medical gurneys lined up in the long hall way on the right side of the entrance. 

“Is this a hospital? On an island?” Kiyo asked herself surprised to find out that she may be in a hospital of sorts on an island surrounded by forest. 

“Can’t be real. I’m just dreaming. I’ve never seen a place like this.” Kiyo said trying to keep her sanity and trying to rationalize the situation. 

“I need to find a way off this island. Maybe I can get a better view from the bell tower.” Looking around she notices that the hallway to the right is in the direction to which the bell tower is. By the end of the hall there are stairs that lead to the upper part of the building and maybe even a way to the bell tower, but the hallway is exposed by the broken windows and that thing is still out there. Her best bet is to crawl to the end of the hall, but she will get cuts from the broken glass and doesn’t know what else can be lurking around inside. Taking in a deep breath she readies herself and begins to crawl. The first few movements were easy with no glass, but from then on it would only get worse. As she crawled, she felt the glass cut through her pajama pants cut into her knees and the palm of her hands. 

“Fuck, this really feels too real for a dream. Why haven’t I woke up yet?” 

As she crawls slowly, she sees these rooms with more medical gurneys inside and some machines and needles on the floor. With some of the moonlight coming through the windows she can see hand prints on some of the walls which were left behind in blood. 

“What happened here?” As she refocused she heard the snarl again of the creature. She leans against the wall, holding perfectly still to hear where it is. It is by the windows, but is not peeking through. She hears the wet footsteps sound distant, giving Kiyo a hint that it is leaving. Sighing, she waits a little and continues crawling and is almost at the end of the hall when a piece of glass cuts a little too deep in around her knee causing her to let out a slight yelp of pain. Realizing what she has done she covers her mouth. But it was a little too late for that because the monster was already by the window looking straight at her. 

“Shit” Pulling out the piece of glass as quickly as she could she got up and ran towards the staircase. The monster broke through the window running towards her and crashing against the wall. Not looking back and ignoring the pain that her leg caused her she made it to the second floor and scanned the area for the door that leads to the tower. There were multiple doors closed and she didn’t have the time to pick. As the creature got closer, she heard a voice that sounded like it belonged to a man.

“This way” was all it said and a door across the hall opened and a blue light shone inside that room. With little chance to debate she ran towards the door as the monster came up the stairs after her. She was able to close and lock the door behind her but the door was not that strong and would break any second. In front of her was a ladder with a cage that led up to what had to be the bell tower. Not giving it a second thought Kiyo climbs the ladder, but is cautious due to its condition. The ladder is rusted and old and could break if any wrong moves are made. As it climbs up to what seems like the half point the door below is blown open and the monster spots her above. Seeing this she climbs fast as she can because the creature is climbing up the ladder. As she climbs she becomes nervous and almost slips holding on with one hand. The monster is climbing faster but can not proceed due to the cage around the ladder. The thing is too big to fit and Kiyo is happy to see that, but it is short lived as the creature does not give up and forces itself to fit as its flesh is torn and snagged by the ladder. It’s screams echo through the room and Kiyo is left in a cold sweat trying to figure out how to get rid of it because once she is up on the tower there is no way to escape it.

She remembers how unstable the ladder is and how rusted it has become and thinks of a solution. She kicks down on the ladder bar beneath her as hard as she can to the point where it will hopefully break off with the monster crashing down with it. She hears a couple of cracks but not enough to break it and as she continues at it the monster comes closer grabbing at her leg. It grabs her leg and fear starts to creep in. Screaming and yelling she kicks at it enough for it to let go and with the extra boost of adrenaline she is able to kick the ladder hard enough for it to break. Scared and in tears she climbs the rest of the way up. There is no longer a ladder for her to get down so she will have to come up with another solution, but just being away from the creature is enough of a bright side for her to not worry herself too much at the moment. Watching her steps, she grabs onto the wall as she walks slowly towards the ledge of the tower to see the island. From where she was looking she could see the sea but no boats to escape on. She walks to the other side of the tower and see other buildings that have come apart and covered in vegetation. 

As she is looking around she notices that there is a gap between the building she came from and the bell tower. It comes to her realization that the tower was never connected to the building, but rather some sort of power made it possible for her to make it to the tower.

“Did something make that room magically take me to the tower? This is all too much. But i’m dreaming… I have to be…..” Kiyo is confused by everything and the pain and the blood that feels dripping down her leg makes her question her dream. Looking around the tower to find a way down she feels a hand grab her shoulder. She freezes in fear and stares at the black rubber glove gripping her shoulder so tightly it no doubt will leave a bruise. She hears breathing that seems to be restricted like as if the individual is wearing a mask. She turns around to see a human figure around 6 feet tall wearing a plague mask and a white coat that seemed to be covered in blood. Staring straight at it, the beak on the mask opens up revealing teeth and begins to speak. 

“You are not supposed to be here! You will bring ruin to my murders!”

“Not be here? What do you mean? This is my dream…. Rather my nightmare.”

“Foolish girl, this is no dream. I know you feel the pain that comes from the cuts on your hands and knees. And the fear that you feel… will I believe it is all too real.” 

Everything Kiyo has felt up to this point has been all too real and she realizes that all this pain that she has gone through would have woken her up by now. 

“If this is true… where am I? How did I get here? Why me?” 

“You are on the island of my glorious murders, where all those fears, secrets, emotions, and misconceptions of mental illness come to life. Those who come here await a rude awakening by my hands. As too how you got here I have no idea, but I sense a light in you that I don’t want fucking around in my domain. So to avoid any future interference from you…. I’ll be getting rid of you. Farewell.” 

“Please don't!” and with her final plea the mask individual pushed her off the ledge of the tower. If all this was real then she would die once her body makes contact with the ground. As she fell her tear covered eyes caught a glimpse of a blue butterfly flying beside her. Something inside her told her to reach out to it as if that would save her. With nothing left to lose she reached out and was able to touch it's wing. 

“Please…...help…..me…” Closing her eyes she awaited the crash, but a blue light enveloped her and she felt warmth and comfort. 

*3:00 A.M.*

“*gasping sounds*”

Kiyo gasps for air as she wakes up from her bed quickly clawing at her sheets and covered in a cold sweat. Dimitira wakes up and jumps out of her bed quickly and turns on her lamp by her dresser and rushes towards Kiyo trying to pin her arms so she won’t hurt herself or Dimitria. 

“Kiyo what's wrong!? Please calm yourself.” Dimitria said worried about her roommates sudden outburst. Kiyo seeing Dimitria and their room helped calm herself slowly and made her realize that she is no longer on the island. As she regained her understanding of her surroundings, she began to control her breathing and broke down into tears and held Dimitria in a tight embrace, which Dimitria returned while rubbing small circles on Kiyo’s back. 

“It’s okay Kiyo it was just a nightmare. You’re safe now.” Dimitria said softly, trying to comfort Kiyo. 

“It wasn’t a dream Dimitria. It was real. The pain and the fear was all too real. I was there.” 

“I know it might have felt that way Kiyo. But nightmares aren’t real.” 

“But it was real…. Ouch” Kiyo said in pain as she felt the pain on her shoulder wear the masked figure gripped her and the sensitivity of the cuts on both her hands and knees.

“If it wasn’t real Dimitira. Then how do you explain these.” Kiyo shows Dimitira her hands, then her shoulder and finally her knees. All bruised, cut, and stained with dried blood. 

“Oh my God! What happened!? How did you get these injuries. I need to call the school nurse!” Dimitria rushed towards the phone in the room that allowed them to contact school staff in case of an emergency. Kiyo got up and ran to the phone and snatched it from Dimitira. 

“You can’t Dimitria. What are you and I gonna tell them. That I had a super realistic nightmare, where I was attacked and left injured just like that? No we can’t. They'll think we are lying and will believe that I've lost it and somehow did this to myself.” Putting the phone back on the receiver, Kiyo grabbed Dimitrias hand and led her back to the bed where they shared an awkward moment of silence until Dimitira broke it. 

“So this all really happened in your nightmare?! How is that possible?” 

“I don’t know, but I tried to wait up for you. I couldn’t hang on so I went to be. And not that long into it I woke up in a forest. I thought I was dreaming. I tried to find out where I was and how to get out of it. I was able to spot a bell tower in the distance and walked towards it. Once I got out, I was able to find a two story building, but it was old with the windows broken, some doors closed off with planks of wood, covered in vegetation, and the roof collapsing. I’ve never been there before.” Dimitria listened with such intrigue at how descriptive Kiyo was about the location. Made her feel like she was there. 

Kiyo continued to describe her nightmare from the descriptions of the foul beast that attacked her, medical gurneys she saw, the bloody handprints on the wall, the glass that she crawled on that cut up her hands and knees, the bell tower that was somehow connected to the building when she first saw it, but ended up being detached, and the masked figure that pushed her off the tower. 

“Wow all that happened to you and somehow a blue butterfly you saw as you fell to your death saved you?” 

“It...it did...I know this is all hard to believe, but I have all these injuries to show for it. Please believe me Dimitira. I’m not crazy. It all was real.” 

“It is so much to take in but I believe you Kiyo. This island that you were on sounds familiar. Was there any distinguishing features that caught your attention?” 

“Well, when I was looking from the tower, I saw this ottagono covered in greenery out on the sea.” 

From that unique feature, Dimitiria lost some color from her face and gripped Kiyo’s hand tightly.

“What’s wrong Dimitria?” 

“I know where you were….. You were on Poveglia Island. Not that far from here and is known to be one of the most haunted places around Venice and most vile due to its past.”

“What happened on that Island?”

“It was originally used as a port in centuries after the Roman Empire, but it later became a bumping ground for Venetians who were exposed to the plague dead or alive. They would keep them outside on a field that they called the plague field and when those died from it were taken to the burning grounds where they would burn their bodies. In 1922 it was turned into an asylum to hide the mentally ill away from the city. It’s alleged that one of the asylum’s doctors would torture and experiment on victims in the bell tower. He met his death by falling from that very tower, and as the story goes, it was the ghosts of his victims who did it. Locals say that over 160,000 deaths have occurred on ‘the island of no return’”.

The description of the story was heartbreaking and chilling to the bone, but it explained so much from what she saw, felt, and experienced. 

“That explains so much. What I’ve experienced is so similar to what happened there. The building I was in must have been part of the asylum, the smell rotting flesh on the monster could be tied to the smell of dead bodies that were burned, and being pushed off the bell tower is the same as the one involving the doctor, but could it be that maybe it was the spirit of the doctor trying to get rid of me?”

“It’s all too similar. It could have been the spirit of the doctor. It could be that his ghost has stuck around because he has unfinished business involving that island and his experiments…. This makes sense about what has been happening lately around the city.” 

“What do you mean Dimitria? What has been happening in the city?” 

“There have been reports of students stealing boats and going to the island to win bets or just ghost hunt. The island has not been inhabited since the discovery of the doctor killing his patients involved in his experiments. Students have gone missing with only one survivor who is able to return. They always explain to the police about being attacked by monster-like beings and a person wearing a plague mask. The police believed it was all a hoax and held the individual under investigation. They did send out a search team to look for them and find evidence, but nothing was ever found. They ruled them as missing, but believed that they might just be some teens that made a pact to run away together. This was the first case that happened around 5 years ago. A similar case happened 3 years after, but ruled out the same due to a lack of evidence and only one person from the group returned.” 

“So the police aren’t doing nothing about it!? Maybe I have to put an end to it. When I was face to face with the masked man he was intimidated by me. Saying that I am interfering with his plans. Maybe I have to go to that island and find a way to get rid of him before more students go missing. I have a feeling that this year he will find his next victims.” 

“Even if that’s so, how will you take him on. He is a ghost and if all this is real that monstrosity that you faced is out there and you have no way to fight back.” 

“I know, but I have to try Dimitria. I have a strong feeling that if I don’t do something about it it will continue to haunt me until I do so. Besides, something chose me to be there. I’m going to that island as soon as I finish coming up with a plan.” 

“Well, I can’t let you go on your own. I’m coming with you. Like I said we are roommates, we gotta have each other's back. Besides I do enjoy paranormal things like this. But all I’ve ever been exposed to was literature and tales of such events.”

“Thank you Dimitria.” Kiyo said as she held her wincing in pain as she remembered she is still in pain. 

“Oh shit, I totally forgot about your wounds. I’m not the best at this but I can at least clean your wounds and bandage you up. Later on in the morning I’ll have my friend Emilio look at them, he’s a second year in the medical courses here at school. You may need a stitch or two around your knee from the looks of it.

“Thank you Dimitria, by the way how did you know so much about Poveglia Island and the missing student cases?”

“Oh I’ve never told you, I’m studying classics, which involve history, literacy, and philosophy. I’m mainly focusing on literature because I enjoy writing poems, but I also dabble in history, mainly for my love of the paranormal. I’ve never really asked you either about your studies?” 

“Oh it’s alright, I’m studying fine arts, mainly painting surrealism, fantasy. My grandmother owns boutiques that are quite successful in Japan and wants me to be the direction design for her clothing and manage the stores. She taught me the business part when I was young, but needed me to better my art style.” 

“Wow! That’s amazing. To be able to create beautiful art that others will wear and be seen all over. Now that is something to look forward towards.” 

“It's alright. I guess. *yawn*” 

“You must be tired after all you went through. Not quite what you expect on your first day. Rest up and will see Emilio about your injury in the morning.” 

“Thank you Dimitria. Umm I have a favor to ask. Would you mind sleeping with me for the night. I’m just afraid to go through all that again and I would like to have someone to anchor me down.”

“No problem Kiyo, that’s what friends are for.” Getting up to put away the first aid kit back on the wall. Dimitria turned off her lamp and got under the covers with Kiyo. 

“Goodnight Kiyo”

“Goodnight Dimitria” 

As they slept the night was peaceful and no more nightmare occurred that night, but evil still lingered on that Island that Kiyo and her friends would later face.


	4. Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiyo meets Emilio, Dimitria's best friend and 2nd year medical course student. He helps heal Kiyo's wounds and stitches her knee. As he finishes healing her, he confronts her about what happened to her from what Dimitria has told him and found it as an opportunity to help him with his paranormal experience and help him find who has gone missing for a year. Is it fate that Emilio has met Kiyo, a survivor of the haunted island who could potentially help him put an end to his suffering of not knowing what has happened to his friend or will she be just another reminder that he is unable to do anything to uncover the truth.

*September 17th, 2017* *7:00 a.m.* 

“Hey Kiyo, time to wake,” Dimitria said as she placed a hand on Kiyo’s shoulder to wake her up from her slumber. She felt bad for waking her up after everything that happened not that long ago, but if she was worried her injuries would get worse if Emilio didn’t look at them. 

“Hmmmm, I’m up, I’m up” Kiyo replied quietly as she rubbed her eyes to wake up and wincing in pain as she remembered that she was injured. Looking at the clock on their wall it is 7:00 a.m. and her almost near death experience was only a couple hours ago. All this still has her shaken, but she was alive and safe and Dimitria believed her giving Kiyo a sense of saneness knowing that there are actual events that tie into her experience. 

“I’m sorry to wake you up so early after what you’ve been through, but Emilio is outside our door ready to patch you up.” 

“Oh, OK let him in. I'm ready.” 

Dimitria goes to the door and tells Emilio to come in. Normally boys are not allowed inside the girls area but Dimitria knows that no one in their dorm wakes up early on a weekend until around 9:00 a.m., so Emilio has enough time to stitch up Kiyo. They could have met somewhere else in the school or even somewhere else, but Kiyo’s legs are nowhere near ready to walk down those stares or go out somewhere. And having her fixed up somewhere in the school will only grab people’s attention. As he is walking in, Kiyo can hear Emilio arguing with Dimitria, but it wasn’t serious, it sounded more like playful banter. 

“Dimitria, this better be a fucking big deal. Last time something happened you made it sound like you were gonna bleed out over the phone and it turned out that you scraped yourself when you fell off your bike. You’re over dramatic sometimes.” 

“Trust me, this is something legitly serious Emilio. I did my best to clean it and stop the bleeding, but it’s deep enough where she will need stitches.” 

At first sight Emilio looked intimating. He looked to be about 5”9, lean, spanish, sunkissed skin, with an industrial piercing on his right ear, black hair that is styled in a caesar cut with strands on his forehead, and hazel eyes that appeared to have anger in them. 

“Hey, the name’s Emiliano, but you can call me Emilio for short.” 

“Hi, I’m Kiyo. I’m so sorry to bother you about this, but I do need the help.” 

“Eh it’s not a problem as long as it's something I can fix. So let's see this shit show.”

Kiyo lifts her right bloody ripped pajama pant leg. She can’t believe she did not notice that from earlier. Embarrassed that she did not change before Emilio came over, she tried to ignore it as she felt a relief of lifting the material off of her injury feeling as if a heavy weight has been lighten on her knee. 

“The gauze is pretty soaked, but not much to be worried about. Good work Dimitria, glad my teachings haven’t gone to waste. Lift up your other pant leg to see how bad that one is.” 

“I’ve learned from the best” Dimitira said playfully 

As Emilio chuckled at Dimitria’s comment. Kiyo pulled up the other pant leg, but it did not hurt like the other.

“These are just some small scrapes and cuts. Nothing to worry about. They aren’t infected. I’ll just clean them up for you. The same for our hands. They aren’t bad either. I’ll do the same and then wrap them so they aren’t exposed. People will ask about that. Just say you fell and scratched them up.”

As he finished looking her over, he put on some medical gloves and cleaned up her small scratches first. After he was done he slowly removed the wrapping and the gauze slowly. He then slowly cleaned the wound and the blood with a medical disinfectant wipe he got from his kit. He looked at it to see how serious it was and a small smirk popped onto his face. 

“You’re a lucky one. The wound is not that deep and not that wide so you will only need a few stitches. I say about 8. I’ll get started on it. I’ll spray the area with a numbing spray, but I recommend you grip onto something just in case because it sometimes doesn’t numb all the way. I ain’t got access to the good shit yet.” 

“Alright. Dimitria, can I hold your hand?” 

“Gladly” 

As Kiyo grasped Dimitria’s hand mentally preparing herself, Emilio began spraying the area and then went on to pull out a needle and thread from his kit. He disinfected the needle and thread the needle. He then kneeled down and pulled the wound together with his left hand as he stitched with his right. 

“Ahh! You weren’t lying when you said I would still feel something. At least it doesn’t hurt as much as I thought it would'' Kiyo said, as he squeezed Dimitria’s hand tightly and trying to fight back tears. 

“Fucking hurts huh, but it will be over soon. Like I said you’re lucky it isn’t that wide of a cut. I’m almost done, 4 more to go stay strong.” Emilio said as he concentrated on his work making sure he doesn’t mess up and hurt Kiyo. 

“You’re doing great Kiyo just a little more and you'll be good as new.” 

“Th….thanks Dimitria.” Kiyo said with a shaky voice, not trying to look at what is being done to her, but curiosity got the best of her and looked down for a moment and saw how the needle went through her flesh. Made her light headed, but she held strong and fought back the urge to faint.

“And we are done. It ain’t pretty to have stitches, but it’s a whole lot better than bleeding out. You will have them for about 10-14 days. Around that time, I’ll check you out for any signs of infection and if there is none, I’ll cut them off. During that time I recommend you wear clothes that open around that area so you don’t rub against it and irritate it. And check for signs of swelling, oozing, or itching cause those are signs of infection. If it gets infected you will have to report to a doctor because I do not have antibiotics for that. Do not get it wet before 48hrs and after that you can lightly spray it with water so you don’t run the risk of infection. And take over the counter painkillers to help with inflammation and pain because you’ll be slightly sore after this. Got all that?” 

“Yah I got it. Thank you again Emilio. You are so amazing. Sorry we had to meet like this. Having to do this for a stranger you barely know in secret must put a damper on your weekend huh?” 

“Nah, it’s alright. It’s great practice. Besides, I'm one of the top five in my class. Though I don’t look or sound like a proper med student I care.”

“I know you’ll make a great doctor,” Kiyo said with a smile. 

“Thanks, but I plan to be an emergency room nurse. Becoming a doctor takes too long and requires way more responsibility. I really don’t have time for that. I just want to get this shit over with.” Emilio said as he took off the gloves and rolled them up into a ball to be thrown in the trash. As he was about to turn around Dimitria came from behind and hugged him. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you so much Emilio. You are the only one I can turn to when things go bad. I don’t know what I would do without you.” DImitria said with the urge to cry.

“Yah yah Dimitria. We've been friends since middle school. Of course I got you.”   
As Dimitria let go of Emilio. He began to put his things away in his medical kit and put them in his backpack. As he was zipping up his back and putting it on her looked at Kiyo with a serious face. 

“Dimitria told me what happened. She thought I wouldn’t believe you and think you were crazy. But I believe you. Shit has been getting fucking wierd around Venice lately. People missing left on occasion. And weirdly they were last seen around the top 5 locations known to be the most haunted, mainly the 4 locations in the city. The island is rare, but the stories from that place are the most gruesome. I’ve even seen some other worldly creatures in the dark around the city. I didn’t believe it at first, but then I heard from others similar descriptions of them and I knew I wasn’t going mad. I’ve told Dimitria about it, though she hasn’t seen them herself she believed me. Just be careful Kiyo. You’ve experienced it and lived to tell the tale. Those who come back alive from the island are deemed insane. But there’s something about you that’s special. You experienced this in a hyper real way. While being asleep but physically there. That’s some fucked up shit. Who knows, maybe you’re the one to uncover all this mystery and deaths. And when you decide to count me in. A friend of mine disappeared a year ago around the San Marco and San Todaro columns and has never been heard from since. His case went cold and I know that something happened to him.” 

As Emilio talked about his he became emotional to the point where his voice shook in anger and sadness from not knowing what truly happened to his friend. He cares so much that he would put himself in a dangerous situation to find out the truth. Maybe this is a sign that she must do something to uncover this murderous mystery and bring peace of mind to those who’ve lost loved ones and to put an end to all of this. But what can a 15 year old do in a situation like this?!

“I know that look. That look of hopelessness and uncertainty of not knowing what to do. But I believe in fate and I know one person alone can’t accomplish everything, but as a group we can do it together and watch each other back. You, me and Dimitira. And though I don’t know you that will, Dimitria trusts you and cares for you and I trust her judgement and that’s good enough for me. I know it may be a lot to take in and come to a decision but think about it. We could do some good and may put an end to this before more people get hurt. I gotta go now before your dorm mates wake up and catch me, but let me know what you come up with when I come to check on you in 14 days. Please.” And with that Emilio left quickly.

His words lingered and touched Kiyo. He was so passionate about it and left it in her care to come to a decision on what to do. So much has happened in two days since she has arrived and she is overwhelmed. But is it a coincidence that all this has come up and happened to her, a transfer student from another country with no ties to the city whatsoever surviving a paranormal attack and meeting others and hearing stories about monsters and murders. No, it had to be fate. She survived that fall for a reason and she felt something when she reached out to that butterfly. There’s something waiting for her out there on that Island and it won’t leave her alone until she puts an end to it.

“Kiyo are you alright? I know Emilio put a lot of pressure on you, but you don’t have to. The guy that went missing was his boyfriend. He feels guilty for not being with him that night he disappeared. He went out with friends and walked home alone in the middle of the night. Many people have disappeared in that area and the stories go that people who walk between those columns at night meet an execution there.” 

“An execution?” 

“Yah. History goes that the columns are symbols of Venice sitting at the entrance of the landmark San Marco Square, but the 2 columns don’t have such a happy past. Even before they were erected, the columns had had a haunted start, as when they were transported to Venice from Constantinople the ship carrying them tipped over and a third column sank into the sea, where it remains. The space between the remaining 2 was later used as the main execution site for many hundreds of thieves, enemies of the Republic and murderers.” 

“They did that in plane sight. Omg that’s horrible! Do you think the spirits of those executed there linger there and cause these disappearances?”

“From what rumors say, they have spotted a big dark figure that is bare chested, wears torn pants, wears a black head cover with only holes for the eyes and mouth and is barefoot roam around that area only and is said that if an individual is caught around that area at night the mysterious being assumes you are up to no good and stalks you and executes you.” 

“That’s horrible! And you believe that happened to Emilio’s boyfriend?”

“He believes so and I do too. But we are terrified to find out. But hearing your story of how you survived the island has given him the confidence to go and confront it. But we require numbers to have a better success rate. That’s why he pleaded to you. I’ve never seen him do that to anyone. You are the first. But if you are not up to Kiyo, I understand and he will too.” 

Kiyo’s questions and concerns all disappeared as Dimitria told her everything and has made it clear that that is why she is here for. Her grandmother could have sent anywhere else to study design, but she sent her here instead. It was fate, destiny even and she was not going to walk away from that.

“I’m not running away from this Dimitria. I will get to the bottom of these hauntings and murder. I’ve experienced all of this and survived for a reason and I’m not just gonna ignore it. Call Emilio and let him know that I’m in and we will look into more once I’m healed up.” 

Dimitria’s eyes lit up and hugged Kiyo, whispering thank you to her. As she let go of Kiyo she got her cell phone from her book bag and called Emilio. 

“Emilio….she said yes.”


End file.
